That's My Story

SIERRA MACKEREL – PUBLISHED WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS- NOV. 04

For years, before I lived in Baja, I would come down like so many other anglers and fish for the glamorous bluewater species that grace the pages of many brochures and magazines…the dorado, tuna, marlin, et al. That’s what I paid my money for and that’s what I hunted. There were so many other species that I caught and quickly tossed aside as “basura” or garbage fish. Some, like needlefish, trumpet fish, lizard fish or puffers because they were either outwardly ugly and I’d never want that evolutionary mess on my plate or because someone somewhere along the line told me it was garbage fish. I mean, given a choice between a slab of needlefish on your grill or mahi-mahi (dorado), most folks could understand my choice.

Sierra (scomberomorus sierra for you academic types) were one of those fish. It wasn’t outwardly ugly. On the contrary, it’s sleek silver/blue exterior with golden dorsal dots is actually pretty stylin’. However, somewhere years ago, I caught one on the iron and my panga skipper at that time laughed and told me it was “yonke” (junk) and that I should give it to him. Not knowing any better, I gave him all my sierra that day as he said it was part of the mackerel family and of course, we all know that mackerel is an acquired taste to say the least! From years of playing off the bait barges and piers of California, I knew exactly what to do with my mackerel. Yessiree, you can have all you want. So, for years, any sierra I caught was given to my skipper or whomever would kindly take it off my hands and without exception it was always accepted with a smile.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized why that first panga skipper was smiling and everyone else was smiling too. It turns out that sierra might be one of the most prized-eating fish in the Baja on top of being a great light-tackle gamer. That first pangero was pulling my leg and he knew he had a “burro” (donkey) on the line when he told me it was a garbage fish.

One of the first sure signs of cooler water this time of year is the appearance of schools of sierra along the Baja coastline. Given their abundance and preponderance to school up along shallow areas, it’s easy to see why they might be mistaken for being “just another mackerel” only prettier. Ranging from 1 to as large as 15 pounds, sierra have the long rakish body of the mackerel except tending towards being more silver. They are powerful fast predators with razor like choppers that draw comparisons to being “baby wahoo” insofar as their teeth can sever mono in a single bite. Like their big cousins, they strike hard; run fast; and make excellent eating with light flakey fillets that can be sautéed, broiled, baked, fried or barbecued. They are possibly the most popular fish in the Baja for ceviche when fillets are chopped, tossed with a bit of garlic, chili, cilantro, onions, tomatoes and left to chill with some fresh lemon juice. Add chips and a balmy afternoon under a beach palapa for instant happy hour.

As gamefish, they are frequently overlooked in much the same way that I used to treat them as just another pesky mackerel. These fish like to school. They like shallow reefs and dropoffs as well as inshore beaches. Find some breaking or schooling bait from November to April and don’t be surprised to get hammered by sierra. Once you get them going, it’s easy and fun to fill the box too as they are hardly picky biters. Fish them directly from shore or from a small boat or panga and they can be one of the most entertaining fish on light tackle. They will certainly eat live bait, but with their sharp teeth, wire becomes mandatory and often wire inhibits the anglers ability to present a lively bait. Like cats that prefer their food to be moving, sierra seem to respond to food that moves. This is where jigging or slow trolling comes in.

My favorite method is to use either a medium spinning rod or even a medium baitcasting/bass rod with a level wind reel loaded with 10-12 pound test. Throwing a shiny chrome spoon like a Kastmaster or Krocodile that wobbles or a light chrome iron like a Christy can result in jarring strikes. A lot of anglers like wire, but I prefer to double-leader the end of my mono with either a Bimini twist or even better, an improved spider hitch as I feel my jig swims better. I’ve also gotten pretty good results with the new tie-able leaders now being offered. Casting to drop-offs, over reefs or into jumping bait or slow trolling those same areas can be a real hoot. Trolling or casting a crank-bait type lure like a broken-backed Rebel or a smaller Rapala will also work, but again, either use wire or double-leader the business-end of your line.

The hit is never ambiguous so you’d better be holding onto your rod. It’s usually a good slam! Like scaled-down wahoo, they will go on some relatively long runs so you’d better give them the high-stick and make sure you have a good drag on your light reel. As mentioned, some of these fish can get up around 10 pounds and no matter what you may think about how mackerel taste, any member of the mackerel family can rumble hard and bend a rod. Sierra stay generally on the surface so even though they might be hooked around structure, they won’t usually dive like their rockfish brethren. The runs will get shorter and shorter, but they will fight all the way back to the boat or beach. Watch those teeth when you remove the hook, but get your rig out again as soon as possible. Where there’s one, there’s usually more. Just don’t let anyone tell you later on that it’s junk fish!

That’s my story.
Jonathan